A Curse of Fate
by Lizapple
Summary: Just after the curse breaks, a powerless Regina is ambushed by Cora, who has unexpectedly showed up in Storybrooke, full of magic and simmering rage, ready and willing to save Regina from the citizens of Storybrooke only to complete her own cruel agenda. Regina is friendless, save for perhaps her white knight in shining.. red leather? Disregarding season 2. Eventual Swan Queen.
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **This is my first attempt at a fanfiction story, and the first attempt I've made at writing anything in quite a while. It's not beta-d either, so please be gentle, but all reviews/criticisms are encouraged and appreciated. I would love to know what you guys think. T for some violence and language right now, may be bumped up to M in future chapters. This WILL be a Swan Queen story, just bear with me through the first bits.

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Regina felt the wave of magic flow through her, closing her eyes and reveling in the feel of pure heat and power coursing through her veins for the first time in twenty-eight years. She felt elated, energized, completely transformed from the moment of weakness she'd just been through, heart-broken at losing once again, losing the curse, losing her power, losing her son. Now, she knew, she could get him back.

And then, just as sudden as it came, it was gone. As the last wisps of purple smoke fled the room, the magic drained right back out of her. Her eyes snapped open, staring at her hands, feeling deflated once again. She tried desperately to cling to the energy, to hold onto it, closing her eyes again and putting her hands together, concentrating on creating a ball of fire. A quick spark, a burst of air, and it fizzled out, leaving her feeling even more spent than before. She cursed under her breath and started pacing, alternatively staring at her hands and attempting small spells, trying to move various things around her room. It was no use. She was powerless.

Growling in frustration, she stalked down the stairs, trying to decide on what to do. If she was quite honest with herself, she had no idea what came next. She had no idea why the curse breaking hadn't transported them back, whether everyone had already fully regained their memories or some came quicker than others, how to get Henry back with no magic and a town full of very angry subjects who were sure to gather and come knocking down her door with pitchforks at any moment.

Almost as if on cue, she heard the faint beginnings of the roar of a crowd in the distance. She looked out a window as she passed, no pitchforks, but there were a few torches. _"Oh good Gods"_ Regina thought to herself, _"Are they going to burn me on the stake? Torch the house? Could they get any less original? Pathetic."_

After a moment of deliberation, she decided she would go out and face them. No sense hiding away like a vagrant. If she was going down, she wasn't going down without a fight, magic or not. As the crowd passed into the perimeter of her property line, Regina crossed through the foyer and flung open the door, charging out scowling, before the sight she came upon on her doorstep stopped her dead in her tracks, heart dropping through her stomach. No. It couldn't be.

But it was. Standing calmly not three feet away from her was a dark-haired woman Regina long thought she had escaped.

"Hello, my dear daughter."

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Regina grasped the side of the door frame to support herself, suddenly finding holding her own body upright a most difficult task. "Mother," she gasped out, eyes wide with shock. _How in the hell did she get here? Had she been here the entire time? How could I not have known?_

Cora casually flicked her wrist behind her, and suddenly the angry murmurs from the crowd turned into shrieks as they were flung backwards and out of a clear barrier around the yard. Then, silence. Regina's eyes finally shifted from her mother to the barrier and the people of Storybrooke. She could see them, but she couldn't hear them. Her breathing picked up speed, as though on the brink of a panic attack. Her mother was here, in Storybrooke, and _she had magic_. How could she have magic when Regina did not?

Cora took a few steps closer to Regina, a false-looking smile on her lips that did not reach her eyes. "Well my darling, aren't you going to invite me in?"

Regina ignored her question, but finally finding the strength to speak fired back at her, "What the hell are you doing here, Mother?"

The faux-smile immediately dropped. "Well I came to see my daughter, of course. I must say, I was impressed by this little spell of yours, although why bring yourself to _mayor_ a place as common and boring as this, I will never understand." Her gaze suddenly darkened, her words gaining more venom by the second. "I did not, however, appreciate being stuck in a mental hospital all this time. Really, that's the best you can do for your own mother who has done nothing but work for your success?"

"_Work for my success?_" Regina spat out, her reactive nature coming out, not even pausing to absorb how her mother had ended up in this place when pre-curse Regina had thought them to already be in completely different worlds. "You never did anything but abuse and trap me! You took everything from me!"

Suddenly she found herself lifted off the ground and violent flung against the side of the house. She cried out from the impact, tears immediately springing to her eyes as she found herself transported back many years, once again reduced to a powerless little girl in the face of her mother's violence. Her head rolled forward, the fight immediately leaving her, feeling more depleted than she could ever remember. The day's events had worn her down, now this. She didn't think she could take much more of it.

"Still as petulant as ever, I see," Cora hissed, "See that was always your problem Regina, you are so rash and quick to forget your place. So much bravado, so little spine. You thought you were the big bad Queen now? Quite wrong, my dear. Don't you remember what I told you?" Cora stepped closer, twirling her fingers with a cruel smirk as thick vines tightened their hold around Regina's legs, torso, wrists, even one around her throat, making it difficult to breathe. She tried to fight it, even knowing it was a useless effort. Cora made a slapping motion in the air and Regina felt her body burn as though she was engulfed in flames, crying out with the pain and memories long buried flooding back to her. Suddenly it stopped and she dropped straight to the wooden porch floor in a crumpled heap, shaking as the aftermath of the magic left her.

"You will _never _escape me Regina," Cora said, looking down at Regina and jerking her face towards hers, "I will always find you. I will always be more powerful than you. You will never beat me. I think it's high time for you to be reminded of that."

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	2. Chapter 2

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I know this may be off to a bit of a slow start, but don't worry! Lots of Cora/Emma/Regina action coming up soon.

Critiques/reviews/suggestions are much appreciated!

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Emma sprinted towards Regina's mansion with Snow on her heels, desperate to catch up with the looming mob that had surely beat her there. In the mass amount of confusion just after the curse broke, still consumed with shock of meeting the woman her roommate had suddenly transformed into- her mother, Regina had not been on the forefront of her brain, but as soon as she had heard the news of what was happening at the mansion she went into full-blown panic mode. She didn't think, she just ran. She didn't think about what she would do when she got there, didn't think about why she was so intent on protecting Regina or how she would react. Just before they rounded the last bend before being in sight of the mansion, Snow reached out and snagged her arm, yanking her to an abrupt stop. "What the hell!" she snapped, "We have to go!"

"Emma, please just wait one minute and listen to me, okay? Do not run blindly into this. There is no telling what is going on there or how Regina is acting. I know her. She's powerful and pissed off. In all likelihood she's regained full use of her powers and is capable of turning us all into cockroaches with a twitch of her finger, don't forget that she is the one-"

"Stop." Emma cut her off forcefully, pinching the bridge of her nose with her eyes squeezed shut. "Just stop. I know that. But I need to see her, I need to know, I will not let Henry lose the mother he's had his entire life."

"Emma, she's the evil queen! I don't want her to die either but we must be smart about this. We need a plan."

"Find Regina, stop the mob, that's the plan." Emma turned and continued briskly walking towards her destination. Snow opened her mouth once and closed it again, thinking better about what she was going to say, and silently followed her daughter, eyebrows drawn, both worried but also a tiny bit proud of the noble bravery Emma was showing.

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The sight that greeted them upon reaching Regina's was not what either of them expected. Many angry Storybrooke citizens were there, yes, but they were anti-climatically milling about the edge of the property, bickering amongst themselves about what to do next.

"What's going on?" Snow demanded. Grumpy was the first to come forward. "We can't get in. Some crazy bitch with a magic barrier. There's no getting through it, we've explored all sides, it's a full circle around the house.

Emma had stopped dead, just staring at the barrier. She could see through it, but just barely. It was foggy and swirling, like a funhouse mirror. She could see two figures on the front stoop of the house. Squinting, she stepped directly up to the edge of the barrier, trying to make out Regina and who the other figure might be.

"Careful," Grumpy said, watching her, "It'll burn you and shove you back if you try to go through it." Emma continued staring as if she hadn't heard. Snow stepped up next to her, also trying to make out the figures, a deep frown upon her face. "Grumpy, who is that? Who's with her?"

"We don't know," he responded, "She just showed up out of nowhere. Only got a brief glimpse before we were thrown back. Dark hair, doesn't look much unlike the evil witch to be honest, older maybe."

At this Snow whirled around to face him, eyes wide. "No…" she breathed out, horrified. "No, it can't be… She hasn't been seen or heard from in so many years, before the curse was even enacted!"

"What?" Emma said, snapping out of her concentration, "Who? Who is it Mar- Snow?"

Snow met her daughters gaze, obviously frightened. Emma had never seen that look in her eyes before- it was unnerving.

"If I am correct, and I believe I am, she is a force twice as evil and cruel than Regina ever was. Her mother." She paused, glancing back at the barrier. "I don't mean to sound dramatic, but if you were afraid for Regina before, you'd better be terrified now, because this news is not good for _anyone_."

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Emma stepped away from the barrier and left the circle of the crowd, leaning against a nearby tree and bending over, face buried in her hands. All this fairytale stuff was really taking it's toll on her. It was one thing to deal with Regina, the mother of her child, the witch she knew, however vaguely. It was a whole other animal to also deal with her mother. Emma had trouble imagining Regina ever even _had_ a mother. She couldn't get that line from the Wizard of Oz out of her head. _That's her sister- she's even worse than the other one! _

Snow gave her daughter a few minutes, conferring with James who had appeared on the scene, sword in hand. Together, they stood in front of the crowd and called for everyone's attention.

"Everyone, please take a moment to listen," Snow began, "Now, I know tempers are high and everyone wants revenge for what has happened to them, believe me, nobody understands as well as I. But there is nothing we can do here. Especially if Cora, Regina's mother, has returned, it is in all of your best interests to make yourself scarce. As I expressed to Emma, if you thought Regina was bad, she is nothing in comparison to that monster. Trust me, I know her, I've witnessed it." Grumbling broke out among the group, still hyped up and ready for action. Snow raised a palm in the air to quiet them. "Please. We may be stuck in this strange land, but I am still, in all intents and purposes, your queen, and no one has suffered worse from this curse than my family and I. I would make a strong suggestion, for everyone's safety, that for now, you all go home, go be with your loved ones now that you may be reunited with them. Rash force will do us no good here." Grumpy snorted, and Snow shot him a stern look. "Let us all take today to organize ourselves. Tomorrow we shall reconvene and come up with a rational plan of action, when I do hope everyone will have calmed down a little. If I know these two," she gestured towards the mansion, "they will keep each other occupied for a while anyway."

As Snow finished, the crowd slowly and reluctantly dispersed, not altogether appeased, but not about to argue either. Soon the only few left were Snow, Charming, and the dwarves wandering about. Snow was neither surprised nor bothered by this. The dwarves would always stick near to her side, and they were loyal to her word. James squeezed her hand before she parted to approach Emma. Putting a hand on her back soothingly, she paused, uncertain what to tell her daughter who was looking more distraught by the minute.

"I don't know what to do." Emma said, finally straightening again, looking at her mother with an unreadable expression. Strangely, all she wanted to do was talk to Regina. She may be the "evil queen", but at this point, she was the only familiar thing Emma had to cling to, except for perhaps Henry who was safely tucked away with Ruby and Granny at the moment, and she couldn't very well go seeking comfort from him.

Snow was conflicted as well. Finally deciding she needed to at least prepare her daughter for what they might be up against with the pair inside the barrier, she opened her mouth to speak only to be cut off by an exclamation from James.

"Snow! I think you might want to come see this."

Snow turned, seeing James squinting through the barrier, and stepped towards him, gently guiding Emma with her. She would soon wish she hadn't.

"I can't see anything."

"I know it's tough to see, but if you look carefully… is that Regina in the air?"

Snow's lips flattened into a tight line, suddenly knowing exactly what must be happening.

"I'm afraid Cora isn't the gentlest of mothers," she said darkly.

Emma's eyes snapped to Snow, suddenly furious and re-energized. "Isn't the gentlest? She looks like she's torturing her!"

Snow looked up at her regretfully. "Yes, I imagine she is."

"I've got to help her!" Emma turned back towards the house and walked purposely towards the barrier, not heeding the warnings that exploded out of both of her parents mouths. She reached out and tapped the blurry line with her hand, feeling an intense heat radiating from it.

"You cannot get through it," James said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "The magic is too strong, even if you try you will likely not survive the consequences."

"Give me your sword," was Emma's only response. James looked at Snow, who shrugged, before handing her the sword in his hand.

Emma backed up a few steps, sword out in front of her, before suddenly running head first into the barrier. She heard James and Snow's shrieks of "No!", then her own scream as her entire body immediately broke out in intense pain, as though she were being burned and stabbed everywhere at once, and then- silence.


	3. Chapter 3

Cora's head suddenly whipped around, hair on the back of her neck rising up. Something wasn't right. She could feel it, that telltale tingle that something was breaking through her barrier. But that was impossible. There were no weak spots, her magical fortress was solid. There was nothing in this world that could break through her defenses.

And yet, something had. Or some_one_.

Regina weakly rose, rubbing her wrists, eyeing her mother cautiously. She was distracted by something, and Regina's eyes darted to the doorway, cursing her lack of powers, her weakness. She fought the urge to run, knowing it was a pointless effort, and being so drained she would be lucky to escape a monkey, let alone a powerful witch. She hated the way her mother could just swoop in and render her helpless at the drop of a hat. But she knew, also, that all magic had its limits. Perhaps, she thought, that's why Cora was now glaring out at her barrier, perhaps she was weakening.

Suddenly a figure flew out of the hazy circle and collapsed, coughing and gagging, onto Regina's front lawn. A very blonde, very familiar figure.

Regina gasped and instinctively moved forward towards her, but Cora was too quick and easily slammed her back, vines binding her again. "Did I say you were allowed to move!?" Cora exclaimed angrily, "or have you forgotten everything I've taught you?" Then, just as quickly, she turned back to the figure still curled on the ground and crooked her finger.

Emma felt herself being yanked forward, dizzy and incoherent, she could do nothing to stop it, until she found herself on Regina's front steps. _I made it, _she thought hazily, before she was yanked up and was looking into the dark eyes of a woman who did look a bit like an older Regina. _Not as attractive, _she thought, then almost laughing at herself for how ridiculous a thought that was at the present time.

"Who are you?" Cora demanded, pushing her up against the not far from Regina. Emma blinked a few times, her head clearing. Her skin still burned, and when she looked down she saw welts all over her body, but it was not unbearable. She looked to her right and saw Regina bound, eyes wide in shock. "Emma…" Regina breathed quietly. Emma met her eyes and was horrified by what she saw there. She was certain she had never seen what true fear looked like until that moment.

"Emma, hm?" Cora said, not taking her eyes away from her most recent captive. "You must have great power to have made it inside my barrier in one piece." She ran a finger down the blondes check, tracing her jaw, and her eyes snapped back to her, narrowing. She didn't have great power, but she did know she wanted this woman out of her face.

"Yeah, I'm Emma, and would you mind backing the fuck off?"

Cora let out a cruel-sounding laugh. "And feisty as well. A redeemable quality, one my daughter never exhibited quite satisfactorily. But you will find, my dear, that I do mind, and I will do whatever I please." She punctuated this comment by snapping her fingers, and more vines curled themselves around Emma's legs and wrists, holding her upright, arms outstretched. "So how did you break in here, hmm?" Cora continued to run her finger downward, over Emma's chest, a sick, sly grin on her face, pausing over where her heart beat in her chest.

Regina stood paralyzed, watching with increasing dread. Why, why had Emma come here? How did she break through? It was baffling. Perhaps the daughter of true love did have some magic, after all. Regina scowled at that, of course, everyone has magic but her. _Typical_.

But when she focused on where her mother's hand currently lay, rage began to burn in her belly. She clung to it, gathered it. Regina had always used rage as her greatest strength, and she summoned it now, even through the terror of what her mother would do to her, what she was surely about to do to Emma.

"Mother!" She ground out through clenched teeth. "Stop it! She has no use to you. She has nothing, it was just luck!" She could tell the words were futile. The evidence was against her. There was no such thing as luck where her mother's magic was concerned. Cora ignored her at first, but seemingly as an afterthought flung out her hand, a burning ball of white light hit Regina square in the chest and she dropped to the ground, gasping as her head spun, feeling as though she'd just been run over by a truck.

"Hey!" Emma shouted out, straining in vain against the vines holding her back, watching Regina in horror, her heart aching for her. Suddenly she understood, she completely got why Regina was the way she was. She was desperate to get to her, to get them both away from this madwoman.

Cora raised an eyebrow, her fingertips sinking just below the skin of Emma's chest. "No, Mother, please!" Regina pleaded, struggling to get upright again. She couldn't do this, not again. She couldn't watch her mother rip out the heart of yet another person she cared about.

_What?_

Regina's own thoughts gave her pause. Since when was Emma someone she _cared_ about? Shaking it off she blamed it on pure emotional exhaustion. Just because she was distressed by her mother's torture of her and other people didn't mean anything. She was just having flashbacks to old memories, that's all.

Cora gave her daughter only the slightest glance. Emma was paralyzed with the horror of having this monsters fingers in her chest, all her bravado slithering away. _I'm about to have my heart pulled out_, she thought, _this is how I'm going to die, going after Regina Mills, of all people._

Cora sunk her fingers in a little further, feeling the blondes heart, but not pulling. Emma gasped at the tightness in her chest. It wasn't exactly painful, not yet, but it was definitely an unnerving feeling. Suddenly Cora burst into a loud cackle and pulled away from Emma, turning back to her daughter.

"Oh Regina, you will just never change will you? I see it all _so_ clearly now."

Regina was silent, staring blankly at her mother, trying to figure out what scheme she was cooking up to lacerate her with now. Emma glanced sideways nervously between Cora and Regina, wondering how the hell they were going to get out of this mess. Maybe she should have listened to Snow.

Cora gripped Regina's chin tightly, inches away from her face. "She's the beloved _savior_," she hissed, disgusted. "And here she is, one more blubbering idiot, inexplicably chasing after you like a lost puppy. Can you not seduce anyone of better worth? Although I suppose this one is at least royalty," she mused, "The saddest most pathetic sack of royalty I've ever seen, but nonetheless."

Regina and Emma both gaped at her. "Mother, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, don't you? Remember it's foolish to lie to me, Regina." Cora caressed her chest before fingers slipped inside, a mirror image of what she had just done to Emma. "Do you forget that I can see inside you? Your hearts tell me otherwise.

Suddenly faint noises reminiscent of bombs or missiles reached the women's ears. Cora whipped around once again. "What _now_!?"

What looked like huge balls of white fire were blasting at the barrier. Cora shot out her hands in magical defense, deflecting them, but the balls kept coming, and Cora's retaliations seemed to be lessening. Regina smirked, watching. Finally, it seemed, the extent of how long Cora had been keeping the barrier and the vines up was beginning to wear at her, as she was breathing a bit more heavily, struggling to keep all her magic in place. Regina could feel the vines around her loosening only ever so slightly, not enough for her to get away, but it was a start.

Then, it happened. Whatever magic was attacking them broke through and a hole in the barrier opened up, clear as day. "No!" Cora shouted, distraught, as a swarm of fairies came flying through it, raining what looked like glittering lightning down on her. The rest of the barrier dropped away as Cora worked rapidly to deflect the spells. "Bugs!" She growled, aiming her own missiles up at them. No way would these little insects even come close to defeating _her_.

Regina's binds had loosened enough for her to move her arms just a bit, and flung one out towards Emma, an idea thrusting her body into action before she could even fully process it. As her hand grasped Emma's, a loud crack and burst of light swirled around them. They were free.

Emma and Regina's eyes met, Emma grinning brightly. "You did it!" Regina began to shake her head, but Emma's words had caught Cora's attention, and they quickly had to dodge a fireball aimed in their direction. Regina, still clasping Emma's hand, flung out her other arm and shot an even bigger one back at her mother. Emma shuddered, feeling heat and a sensation she couldn't quite name flush through her body, but she couldn't bring herself to drop Regina's hand. Cora growled furiously, forced to duck it.

"This isn't over!" She shrieked, before spinning on her heel and disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

All was silent for a long moment, each woman wondering what came next. "Regina…" Emma started, a thousand thoughts swirling around her brain, finally settling on the easiest, the most basic, "Are you okay?"

Regina let out a breath and a humorless laugh. "No, dear. I certainly am not _okay_."

Before Emma could respond, she heard Snow crying out her name just before she was pounced on by the woman hugging her tightly.

"Are you insane! You could have been killed! You _would_ have been killed! How did you survive that!? Do not ever do that to me again, do you understand!?"

Emma hugged her back, having been pulled away from Regina. "I'm fine. I don't know."

"You're burned!" Snow exclaimed, looking over her skin. Emma shrugged.

"I'm okay."

"We can get the fairies to heal you, thank god they agreed to come aid us." Snow attempted to gently pull her daughter from the porch, towards the group of conversing fairies, all looking grave. Emma resisted and looked back at the seemingly forgotten Regina, standing slumped against her doorframe.

"Wait, okay, no. Snow, I'm fine, can you just- I need to talk to Regina."

At this Regina looked up at her again with a confused expression. Snow looked as though she was going to object, but Emma cut her off before she could say anything, pulling away from her embrace.

"Please. Just give me a little bit of time, okay? I just went through a hell of a lot in a very short period, I need to process it, and I need to talk to Regina. Alone."

After a moment, Snow nodded. She looked over at Regina, not knowing how to feel about the woman at this point. She had destroyed their lives, she was the evil queen, Snow should hate her, should be plotting her punishment. But looking at Regina now, she was not so certain.

"Okay, just be careful, darling, all right? I'll leave you to it, but we won't be far when you need us."

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Thank you for all the lovely reviews so far! They are keeping me going :) I floundered about a lot trying to figure out how to work this scene and I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with it but it is what it is. Action is definitely not my forte. Coming up soon: Finally Regina and Emma get a chance to talk! ;)


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